Lucie Grace – For What It’s Worth // Penny For Your Thoughts

In mid-January, a former pop star sold their Brit Award trophy on eBay for £66,100. That in itself gives us a lot to talk about; the true worth of awards, the price of fame, the pointlessness of such trinkets in an industry as transient and fickle as music, the colossal waste of time and money that is awards ceremonies, the fundamental purpose of music and indeed creativity as a whole.

But wait. There’s more. Said pop star was a member of none other than telly hopefuls S Club 7. “Which one?” I hear you cry. The hot one who appeared in FHM on the regs? The awful one who picked on Shilpa Shetty in Celebrity Big Brother? Bradley the break-dancer? No, no, you’d have to keep guessing as the seller of his year 2000 Brit Award for Best Newcomer was the S Clubber that time forgot, Paul Cattermole, who to be fair to him, went quietly into his post-fame life without any desperate attempts to cling to the dream and has seemingly grown into a really nice everyday bloke with good taste in specs and a very laid back attitude towards hoarding silverware.

The first thing I’d like to ask Paul is “Why sell it?” The automatic assumption is man has bills to pay but he has admitted (in his updated eBay listing) that he did not in his wildest dreams expect the auction to rise to this tasty height. Was Paul cleansing his past? Saying goodbye to his youth as a new year turned? Starting a new chapter, free of the deadweight of teen popularity that forever haunts your ego like a dead best friend? I like to think that Paul simply gives zero fucks and sold his Britannia for a laugh. I mean he didn’t even polish it first. And to put a cherry on it, he’s just listed his second and final Brit Award for 2002 Best Single. Bidding currently at £65,900. Damn the industry man, Paul Cattermole. We salute you. May the fruits of your exploited youth bring you comfort in your twilight years.

—

Lucie Grace is a writer and DJ who’s currently working on a travel book, as well as building a campaign to bring back MTV2. Find Lucie on Twitter at @luciegraces